Pride of the Planet
by ElegantRed
Summary: Sidestory One is up! Meet the new character! Expect Chapter Four in exactly a week! Its going to be a monster of a tale y'all!
1. A Ressurrection of Kind

PLEASE REVIEW WHEN FINISHING THIS STORY! EVEN IF ITS ONLY A FEW WORDS!!!   
  
The whispering wind brings the promise of change, licking over the ruined city of Midgaard, through the trees of the ruined forest, over the red hills to the crater caused by Sapphire Weapon, and onwards. To the place where Standard Weapon fell, and even under the sea in a shower of bubbles to the place where Emerald Weapon met its doom. This is a breeze of furious secrets and scandals, all promising, all wishing, all hoping for change and redemption...  
  
Holy is gone, Meteor vanquished.  
  
Sephiroth lies forgotten in the ground.  
  
Heroes change and move on, treading new adventures...  
  
For all of us. For our hopes. For our dreams!  
  
You must remember!  
  
Red looks up, purring thoughtfully. He remembers the voice well, even though hundreds of years have taken a toll on his memory. A girl he once knew. A girl he'd first met in a glass box in a terrible place. Last of his ilk. She, the last of hers. And a cruel, peverted doctor had wanted to force them to copulate. How terrified she'd been, even though she'd possessed such phenomenal power. And how they'd come to be good friends after escaping - before - before her death.  
  
Thinking himself old and foolish, Red shifted and turned to look at the small kittens next to him. Their creation had been a miracle, for there were no females of his kind. But, Red's response to materia, and the magic he'd summoned had left a palpable residue from which he'd found a new kind of materia. The Create Materia. From it, he'd been able to take samples of his own body and make smaller versions of himself, but, being wise and knowing the dangers of inbreeding, had taken time to study geneology so that he could carefully adapt and create versions of himself with subtle differences, so that as they grew and bred, they would be able to prosper in health.  
  
Red! For our hopes! For what we shared!  
  
Remember me!  
  
At some subconscious level, Red's mind reached out for action and he gently plucked the amber Create Materia from his head and cradled it in one large, soft paw. It responded to his touch and throbbed with the delight to please him, for all Materia came from the Planet, all Materia was alive - all Materia sought to live.   
  
NOW Red! Call for me!  
  
Please!  
  
In his mind, the picture formed. Long brunette hair, so long and wavy that it could almost have been a dream. Her face, so delicate, with blue eyes so wide and rosebud lips so soft. That form, so elegant and attractive on a woman, with breasts just developing from those of a girl into a woman, and those legs, so long, so shapely with fine calves, ending in such dainty feet...  
  
"Aeris..." he whispered, and suddenly, feeling the need to cry her name, he called out, "AERIS!"  
  
The materia's plesant, mild shine intensified to the point where Red cast his eyes to the heavens and cried out in such a ferocious roar that his kittens scampered away in fright, having never seen their father so loud or terrifying. From the cover of a nearby bush they peeped out from behind leaves and branches, tiny yellow eyes watery, little noses quivering.  
  
"...Red..."  
  
Her hands reach from the materia-infused air, delicate long fingers ending in perfect nails. The hands give way to arms and slowly the rest of her appears in all of its natural glory, naked body exposed to the warm air. Slowly, Red brings his gaze back to her, smiling as he does so and reaches out a paw to those hands, drawing her down from the air. As her feet grace the ground, the grass responds as though mad, growing up around her, flowers appearing and bursting into bloom, as the tiny traces of Holy energy seep from her skin and into the locale.  
  
"Aeris!" murmured Red, "Even with the Creation Materia, it takes time, I would have had to have built you from the genetic stages upwards! How???"  
  
Aeris smiled her soft, warm smile, "From the Planet, I realised the need to return. The Planet gave your Materia the power to create me on the spot, all I needed was you, the medium to initiate it! And I'm glad Red! I'm so wonderfully glad!"  
  
At that she threw out her arms and hugged him close, snuggling into his soft fur, burying her face into his chest so that all the surprised Red could do, was rest his chin upon the crown of her head and close his eyes, happy to have an old friend back after all this time...  
  
Later that night, in a safe part of the hills where Red had discovered a spacious cave, a fire was lit, and after a simple effort with the Create Materia, Red had formed Aeris some simple clothes. She looked beautiful in them, the short sleeved brown jacket that ended at her midrift, exposing its creamy, toned surface before her rose-pink silk skirt started, flowing all the way down to her ankles. The kittens, Efos and Puri, had returned from hunting with two small grouse, and Aeris had prepared them, put them onto spits and was slowly roasting them.  
  
Across the fire, sat on his haunches, Red looked grim and thoughtful.  
  
"Not that I'm displeased to see you Aeris, but why have you returned?"  
  
The memories of her mission sunk in and the simple chore of cooking was suddenly ruined for Aeris, so much so that a frown danced across her features.  
  
"The Planet is in danger from something so awesome I can't exactly comprehend it." she sighed, "Its a level of evil so great, so immesurable that I'm afraid to even dwell on it..."  
  
"What, though?" asked Red, "Worse than Sephiroth? We saw him off Aeris!" And suddenly his voice caught, "Well, I mean, um..."  
  
She smiled softly, "I died, Red, but we all dealt with it. Cloud and Tifa moved on. Barrett and his little girl moved on. Yuffie, Vincent, Cait, Cid - but I don't mind. But this evil is awesome, it'll take all the power of the Ancients to correct it. But... That isn't all..."  
  
"What else do you need?"  
  
"I have to bring Cloud back from the dead. And Yuffie. Perhaps even Tifa. But the first two are essential. I probably shouldn't say too much, for there are children around - but..."  
  
Red growled quietly. Efos and Puri sat bolt upright and turned to him, nodding once in reply and scampered out of the cave, out onto the evening bronzed hillside.  
  
"Go on..."  
  
"When Sephiroth summoned Meteor, the ultimate attack magic from space, he disturbed something long dead. A machine operated by magic, a machine we will find horribly similar. This machine was the first and most powerful Weapon, so powerful that it couldn't exist on the Planet because its very presence would disrupt the Core and destroy everything. So you see, the BlackArmour Gehenna Weapon was revitalised by Meteor's passing, the sparks of magic surged into its system and over the last few hundred years, it slowly began to reactivate itself. And now, in the next few weeks, it is going to come back to life and head towards this Planet, because although the Weapons were initially designed to protect this world, time has erased them of their duty. And, like Cloud killed all the other Weapons, this one is now alone... We hear its mind, even though the BlackArmour Gehenna Weapon was designed to protect us from afar. And it wants revenge. On us all..."  
  
Surpressing a shudder, Red looked deep into the fire, wide eyes glassy with fear, "What can we do? Can we kill it?"  
  
"Without Cloud, possibly not. He mastered the Omni-Slash technique so in theory, once ressurected we could get him to use it. As for Yuffie, her family have mastered the art of slaying evil, and their ninja heritage means she'll be an incredibly useful character in a fight. Seeing as how she isn't truly dead anyway, she'll also be one of the easiest to ressurect. Her soul still inhabits her Dojo, watching her descendants keep the traditions alive. She never returned to the Planet."  
  
"Well, you shall have my assistance regardless. I've kept my weapons and my Materia, despite keeping a peaceful existence. And I shall help you in your fight, my dear friend."  
  
Aeris smiled gently, "You're too kind, but what about your children?"  
  
"They shall tag along!" declared Red broadly, "It'll do them good to get some knowledge of the world. And with that Weapon about to arrive, the safest place is with their tough father and beautiful Aunty Aeris!"  
  
The young Ancient giggled gently, "I've never been an Aunty before, I hope I do a good job!"  
  
"If you do half as good a job being an Aunty as I know you'll do saving this world, I don't have any reason to worry!" declared Red, "Now, what's the plan of action?"  
  
Slowly slipping the grouse out of the fire and onto some plates, Aeris frowned thoughtfully, "We'll go to Yuffie's Dojo in the west first of all. Her Materia Store is considerable, and we'll need all the fighting power on our side in order to get to where we need to bring Cloud back. Unfortunately, BlackArmour Weapon's primary defenses are online. His Wings are already on the Planet, searching to cause destruction!"  
  
"Wings?"  
  
"His agents, two soldiers of phenomenal power. Diamond and Ruby were designed to protect BlackArmour while he rebooted, but they also serve as a frontal attack!"  
  
"So what are we waiting for? We'll eat this dinner and move on out! Efos! Puri! Grub's up! And after that, we're going on a little journey!"  
  
On top of the ruined Shinra Corp. building, two fingers land from the air, but only one folds in his considerable black feathered wings. The other, smaller by several inches and slighter of frame, keeps his wings extended, and gazes out over the almost entirely decimated city. With his red eyes and auburn hair, it is easy to discern that he is Ruby, while the other, with his grey eyes and silvery hair, is discernibly Diamond.  
  
Both are decidedly threatening, but for different reasons. Ruby is petite and horribly thin, so his black and loose fitting robes make him look skeletal and fragile - but the wicked glint in his eyes hints at a sadistic nature kept carefully under control. On the other hand, Diamond is tall and sturdy, not broad shouldered or muscular, but possessing a strength of figure that Ruby lacks, although his glassy eyes indicate he is not nearly so violent or unhinged. But, while Diamond simply packs a cruel looking sword as long as his body and strapped to his back in a leather harness, Ruby's arms and legs are dotted with various materia, sewn into the skin to heighten the powers that flow through his blood.  
  
"This is it? This is the world we will destroy?" whispers Ruby, fingers working quietly at his sides.  
  
"Yes," replies Diamond blandly, "This is the world that created us, and it is the world we will destroy."  
  
Ruby giggles in delight and lifts his hand, calling fire into being that rests in an orb atop his hand. Then, throwing it like he would a ball, he delights in the explosion of the nearby buildings, the plume of smoke and debris rising high into the air. Then, lifting his other hand, he calls air into being to guide the dirt and debris into one tiny compacted space and hurries it out of the way, so that he might gaze over the horizon.  
  
"There are still people living here. Do you want them?" asks Diamond.  
  
Ruby smiles.  
  
Ruby laughs.  
  
Ruby hungers.  
  
"I thought so. My sensors indicate that an Ancient has been called back as the Planet's primary defense. He or She will most likely be searching for people to deactivate BlackArmour - so after some recon it would be wise to discern just how strong the people of this world are. If they have developed Materia and weapons in the last few thousand years, it would be best to eliminate most threats before BlackArmour arrives..."  
  
Ruby nods, "So, fun first, work later? I can do that..."  
  
Launching into the air, he flies into the distance, but the explosions start before his wings take their first movement. And Diamond, for all his emptiness and silence, cannot help but feel a little pity for the poor souls who couldn't even imagine that their ultimate demise was just swooping down from the skies...  
  
THIS IS THE END OF PART ONE! I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT! PLEASE REVIEW! THE MORE REVIEWS, THE QUICKER I'LL BRING OUT PART TWO! I CAN DO A PART EVERY TWO DAYS IF THERE'S HIGH DEMAND!  
  
THANKS - ELEGANTRED! 


	2. The Truth of Wings

Here's Chapter Two! I'm upping the stakes!  
  
In this chapter, we learn more about the Wings and find out Midgaard's fate!  
  
This is the last chapter to focus so heavily on the Wings so heavily, it'll be back to Red and Aeris properly soon!!!  
  
It begins...  
  
What is a dream? Is it life within consciousness?  
  
Or simply consciousness searching for an alternative?  
  
Do we live within a dream?  
  
Or does the dream exist outside of us?  
  
I'm frightened.  
  
I'm terrified.  
  
Hold me...  
  
"Red, please stop for a second," murmurs Aeris, "I need a moment to catch my breath."  
  
Since the start of their journey during the night, they had kept a strict Westerly course towards Yuffie's Dojo in the hills. Red, Efos and Puri had kept up a strong swift pace but Aeris, having only just resumed a physical body, found the use of legs difficult and awkward. While the cat-beasts rested upon their haunches watching Aeris kindly, the young Ancient found a seat on a moss coated rock and gently massaged her aching muscles, weary but horribly aware of her apparent weakness.  
  
"Its funny, I found it so much easier with my staff..." she said a little quietly to herself.  
  
It could have been Red's imagination, but at this point, tears glinted in her sad grey eyes.  
  
"Aeris..."  
  
She looks up, hair spilling to the floor as her flimsy tie gave up, the tears finally finding their way free of restraint, spilling down her flushed cheeks, "Oh Red, I'm so frightened! This isn't going to work! The Wings, I can't even comprehend fighting the Wings, let alone BlackArmour! I can't even walk for more than an hour! I'm useless!"  
  
Finding her tears with his tongue, he licked them away gently and did his best to smile, but his lipless mouth and sharp teeth turned it into a macabre, almost threatening gesture, and he hid it nearly immediately. Humans were such difficult things to control and care for. Red's own race were far easier, preferring to keep their own emotions inside for the most part, using scent and posture to portray how they felt. But humans, humans had to use expressions, tears, sound and posture, so many diffierent concoctions that if caught unprepared, could be entirely overwhelming.  
  
"Tell me more Aeris, I can tell you're holding things back," Red said, "And if I'm going to contribute anything to this, no, if I'm going to give it everything, I have to know everything!"  
  
Aeris sobbed gently, wiping away her tears only to find new ones streaking her face, "Red... The Wings... They're not just primary defence systems designed to protect BlackArmour Weapon..."  
  
The fur on Red's back bristled in anticipation, "Go on?"  
  
Efos and Puri, sensing their father's agitation, slunk behind the rock that Aeris sat upon, keeping well out of the way. Since this woman had turned up, they'd seen a rather unwelcome side of their father's personality, one which they would be quite happy if they never saw again.  
  
Taking several deep breaths, Aeris clenched her hands into fists, "The Wings were once Ancients, used in the development of the Weapon System. Against their will, so essentially it was a violation of their wills and minds. Because the Ancients were such a pacifistic and gentle race unaccustomed to violence, this assault broke their minds and left them wide open to the advances of the Weapon System. They were mixed with the loathed Machine Materia, one of the materia which led to the uprising of mankind's technological developments - this Machine Materia was to enhance their synchronicity with BlackArmour Gehenna Weapon, as well as incorporating in enhanced strength and knowledge. Each Wing was supposed to care for separate area of combat. Diamond Wing is given incredible speed with a sword crafted from the same incredible alloy which forms the weapons - though this sword is also enhanced with the Metal Materia, Machine Materia and Acidic Materia, so one touch of it could essentially destroy. Ruby Wing is physically weaker, but being the purer of the two Ancients, suffered a far greater corruption giving him a sadistic nature and creative use of torture in his efforts to hunt and kill. Ruby was actually operated upon after being infused with the Machine Materia, so that he could have other Materia actually placed inside his body so that his connection with the Planet would increase the Materia's powers tenfold... So you see, Red, I was the last of my kind. Until now. I'll be helping to kill two of the last three Ancients..."  
  
It isn't possible.  
  
An end, to end, was my desire.  
  
But it was, has been stolen...  
  
(heartbeat)  
  
And now...  
  
(heartbeat)  
  
I will wake up...  
  
Diamond Wing unsheathed his sword and turned his expressionless eyes to the East. Cradling the sword, he welcomes is strength, its vicious power throbbing clear through its metallic length, from the potent Materia sealed within, to the cruel edge, finely worked by the most skilled Smiths in the world. Within his body, he feels the synchronicity with the Materia pulse and grow, for even though his system is recycled and reused by the Machine Materia, it is still essentially Ancient and therefore bound to the Planet - and it is this bond that enhances the performance, evolving the link daily until Diamond Wing will be entirely one with his sword, unstoppable, indestructable.  
  
He doesn't move from the top of the Shinra Corp building, even though there is life in the suburbs and outer city. He is content to wait here, working quietly for his master, learning everything from the broken machines and the broken experiments deep in the reccesses of the laboratories. There are secrets to be learned, mysteries solved, and while Ruby delighted in spreading fear, Diamond much preferred gathering knowledge and gathering power that way. Though the same side of the coin, their faces faced separate ways.  
  
"Thinking again?" murmurs a voice in his ear, "Diamond, you're ever the philosopher, aren't you?"  
  
"I like to think about life, no, I like to think. Is that so wrong?"  
  
Ruby giggled, stepping out from behind his tall comrade and into plain sight. His simple robes were splashed with blood and gore, his face streaked with red and his eyes glowing with intensity.  
  
"You funny thing," giggles Ruby, "All that power and you so rarely use it. Are you sure you're entirely sane?"  
  
"Saner than you." was Diamond's sharp reply, "Now be quiet. I'm trying to work things out!"  
  
Spinning away on nimble feet, Ruby sat himself atop a vine strangled terminal and peered down at the sword toting Wing. It was odd to see such a change him him. Diamond allowed himself very few hints of emotion and these had always been carefully planned, staged events. He just couldn't do emotions. Perhaps this is what made him such an efficient killer, but at the same time, held him back?  
  
***What have you to report?***  
  
The voice of BlackArmour Gehenna Weapon roared in Ruby's head suddenly, tearing through all the fibres of his being and chilling the final few shreds of what could pass for his soul. It only took Ruby a few seconds to group his thoughts and prepare his reply.  
  
"We are preparing this world for you, Master BlackArmour. While Diamond is investigating the ruins of Shinra Corp, I'm taking steps to insure that the people of Midgaard are taken out of the picture. The other settlements will fall easily if Midgaard is erased first!"  
  
***What steps are you taking?***  
  
"I'm going to unleash my Ice Materia upon this city, coating it beneath a spell I can only name - UltigaBlizarra..."  
  
"You can do that? You've reconciled yourself to kill the others of your kind?"  
  
"I have to! They're no longer the peace loving pacifistic Ancients that I knew! They're violent, wicked, sadistic!"   
  
Red harrumphed and stood, locking his eyes on Aeris' face, not moving away for a second, "Aeris - I really don't know if violence should have to be the only resort now that you've told me this. Shouldn't we see if there's a method of release for them? Saving them from the Weapon Programme so that we could possibly see the return of the Ancients?"  
  
Wide eyes sparkling in the morning light, Aeris shook her head and shed her last tear. Then, standing, she gathered her clothes about her and walked to the brink of the small gnoll that they had rested upon, cast her gaze to the growing amber sun semi-shroudded beneath shreds of ghostly cloud.   
  
"The Ancients won't return now, Red. I am fine with being the last of my kind, really I am! Once BlackArmour Weapon is destroyed, I will settle and marry, have a child and be content to bring life into this world. But these Wings could never be restored to their former selves. And even to introduce a faint percantage of hope, would require thousands of years to undo the traumas visited upon them by the Machine Materia." pausing, Aeris sniffed quietly and smiled a simple, sad smile, "No, these Wings must be killed, for our good, their good and the good of the Planet!"  
  
On tiptoes, Ruby casts back his head in delerium as the Materia all across his slender frame throb with power. One specific Materia, sky blue in colour, inserted into the skin on his left wrist, turns a rich neon colour and gives off such a blinding presence that anything looking on would have been incapacitated until it dissipated. Holding up his hands, working fingers quietly into a hidden pattern, manipulating various energies to his control, Ruby delighted in the approaching chill as Ice Magic gathered to his command.  
  
It is coming...  
  
Silence...  
  
My wish...  
  
The wish...  
  
Finally reaching the critical point, Ruby cast his hands out and turned a full circle to indicate that all of Midgaard was his target. Then, clapping his hands together in a sound that thunderclapped across the city, a voice danced from his throat with tones that reached too far into the ground to be human, with hints of an ethereal power that couldn't quite be touched upon, saying only these words - "UltigaBlizarra!" - and with that, Midgaard was doomed...  
  
It came as a wall of ice, blue and unstoppable, sweeping down from the top of the Shinra Corp building in all directions. Through the ruined city it came, out into the living city so quickly that all those trapped by it didn't even have the time to scream in horror, all paused in their every day affairs. Their doom was permanent, horrendous and awesomely cruel, as the people slowly suffocated, unable to move, unable to show anything apart from mute, simple expressions. Some died smiling at the ones they loved, some died with faces expressing hate - the spectrum was covered...  
  
And beneath Midgaard, something turned in its sleep as the call came for it to wake up...  
  
Silence has come.  
  
Midgaard is destroyed.  
  
And now...   
  
And now...  
  
I will wake up...  
  
END OF PART TWO! Please Read and Review! It'd mean a lot! Part Three will be up soon! 


	3. Chapter Three The Change

Chapter Three - The Promise We Made  
  
(I hope plenty of people are reading and enjoying this, even if they're not reviewing. Thanks for the reviews so far Firefly! Please keep it up! In honour of your great support I'm going to add a special character in your honour! Don't hate me if you don't like it, I couldn't tell if you were male or female so I made a judgement call! *shrinks and hides in case he gets it wrong* And for all those who read this, PLEASE, review it. This story really is a labour of love!)  
  
(EEK! This Chapter contains some nudity and mild sexual situations!)  
  
What To Expect In This Chapter:  
  
We meet two very attractive young women  
  
We see the welcome return of an old ally as well as an old enemy  
  
Tragedy strikes for one of the Wings  
  
And we meet a very special boy.  
  
It begins...  
  
With the sunrise came a chill in the air, and again, it began to snow. For the two women trudging over the crest of the hill, it was cold enough in their skimpy costumes, and if they didn't find some shelter soon, they knew the adverse conditions would be hazardous for their health. The first woman was taller by a good six inches than her companion, and stunning with her curly blonde locks, honey shaped face and curvacious frame. She wore a skintight baby-pink one-piece swimming costume with a fuzzy rabbit tail upon her rear end, with tall white ears that sprouted from a carefully concealed hairband in her hair. The second woman was shorter and far more slight, with short ebony hair vertically streaked with amber, framing a round face nearly filled with her soulful brown eyes. This woman wore an equally figure hugging one-piece, but this one was mostly black with slashes of gold silk across it, as well as chunky coal-coloured boots and translucent wings attatched to her back.  
  
Honey and Bunny were quite aware that they looked ridiculous, but as 'special' dancers in the Toybox Club, their costumes had to be eye grabbing if they were going to get the better tips and customers. But what circumstances would find two young women without any protection trudging through the hills in the snow, with suitcases in each hand? As it becomes apparent they are holding a conversation, let us join in...  
  
"Bunny, I'm cold! Can't we stop for just a second?" moaned Honey, "If we don't, I'm going to get worn out!"  
  
"No!" replied Bunny, a little sharper than she intended, "If we stop, frostbite will set in and then we'll never get going again! We have to keep walking. If we do - if we do - then we'll find shelter!"  
  
It was six hours since the UltigaBlizarra had decimated Midgaard, and seven hours since Bunny, who had been plagued with mild prophetic visions and dreams of fortelling since a young age, had seen Midgaard destroyed in her mind's eye. Honey had been Bunny's only friend since the sweet and innocent girl from the farms outside of Midgaard had appeared in the club, looking to make some extra money - and it had been only Honey who Bunny had shared this secret information with. If it hadn't been for Bunny's tearful insistency, and Honey's painful menstrual cramps earning her the day off, Honey would be entombed in Midgaard.  
  
Biting her lip nervously, Honey kept quiet and they kept walking in silence. She looked up at the moon, heavy and creamy in the sky which was already turning from navy to a rich azure while the dull glow of the sun appeared slowly, dispelling night and bringing the day. But the sun didn't bring any warmth. Bunny, who knew a little of the Materia System, explained that summoning such incredible elemental energy had changed the environment, possibly for good. It hadn't been just ice that had coated Midgaard, but pure Ice Materia dotted within the actual ice, meaning that it wouldn't melt unless vast quantities of Fire Materia were unleashed.  
  
A cry nearby made Honey look up, and cry out herself. A boy was running towards them, slender, tall and toned, dressed in rags and his long blonde quills of hair streamed out behind him. Behind him came a tall, lumbering shape, violent in its cruel, muscular glory. Small glowing eyes were set deep in its ruined face, and whenever it opened its mouth to roar, it revealed rotten stumps of teeth. Through the snow, breath bursting from his mouth, he ran. And for Honey, time slowed, turning to syrup, as though she were entombed in the ice itself, watching everything unfold. She was used to panicking, she was a nervous, flighty creature by nature, not helped by the fact that it was 'that time of the month'.  
  
"We have to help him! He must be another survivor!" squeaked Bunny.  
  
"Are you mad?" croaked Honey, "He's doomed!"  
  
Bunny threw the suitcase in front of her and opened it quickly. Throwing out clothes this way and that, she plucked out a small wooden box from the very bottom, then opened it, plucking out the small globe of grey, ashen Materia that was secreted within. The Materia had actually been fitted onto a strap of white leather which she swiftly fixed around her wrist and drew tight, so that it now actually resembled a rather tasting ornament in keeping with her outfit. But Honey knew that no Materia was a useless trinket. It just took her by surprise that quiet, simple Bunny actually had it.  
  
"Bunny!" cried Honey, "Don't do anything stupid!"  
  
But Bunny was off and running. She intercepted the beast before it could reach the boy and threw out both hands, but the creature lashed out and knocked her to one side, claws hooking slightly on her costume and tearing it down the side so that the top half came free, setting free her full, firm breasts, sending her tumbling into the snow. Not one to be embarassed by such a turn of events since she had bathed frequently with her siblings and cousins at a younger age, she managed to clamber to her feet, ignoring the pain of the fall and the chill on her skin, she took a strong stance.  
  
Now, the creature had stopped and fixed its eyes upon her. It snarled slowly and cruelly, but its attentions weren't violence any longer. It took a step forwards, and then another. But Bunny wouldn't tolerate its presence a second longer. Narrowing her eyes and focusing her mind onto the orb at her wrist, she cast her hands towards the beast and called the name of her spell aloud, "AERO!", and at that, razor sharp gusts of air tore at her opponent, slicing through ripe, putrid flesh, tearing at muscular lips and severing veins, then arteries. The beast growled and burbled as blood filled its lungs and mouth, coughing and spluttering as it was torn at for a good few more minutes until it fell wasted to the ground.  
  
Silence.  
  
Honey looked at Bunny.   
  
The boy looked at Bunny.  
  
Bunny gazed only at the beast she had eradicated...  
  
The boy looks at her, admiring her slender legs, toned stomach and delicious breasts, feeling something deep within himself stir and thicken. But he dispels that fantasy quickly. The girl of his dreams is dead and this is some separate, albeit lovely vision...  
  
Having shrugged into new clothes, not much more substantial than the first set, Bunny took her time in putting the young man at ease while Honey stood nervously to one side.  
  
"I'm Bunny, this is Honey!" she declared cheerfully, "And you're...?"  
  
"Nimbus." replied the young man in calm, emotionless tones, "Nimbus Cloud."  
  
"That's a nice name!" replied the dancer, "And I'm glad the introductions were so easy! You see, we come from Midgaard. Do you?"  
  
He shook his head, and Bunny found herself a little transfixed by just how handsome he was.   
  
"I'm..."  
  
"I'm..."  
  
Both blushed, realising they had started to talk at the same time.  
  
Honey, having seen this kind of spectacle play out before between the numerous romantic trysts developing in Toybox, rolled her eyes and stepped between them.  
  
"Nimbus, Bunny! I'm not sure about you guys, but I really do think we're going to need some help!" she stated firmly, "Its snowing and its not like we're going to survive out here if it gets much worse!"  
  
Trying to ignore her burning cheeks, Bunny asked, "Nimbus - where exactly do you come from? If you're not from Midgaard, where?"  
  
Nimbus shrugged, "Around. Why, where do you want to go?"  
  
Honey glanced at Bunny, their eyes locking. Two attractive young women with no qualifications bar dancing? They had a good idea. Turning back to Nimbus, Bunny replied, "The Golden Saucer?"  
  
The boy shrugged, not startled or surprised despite the fact that the Golden Saucer was thousands of miles away.  
  
"I can take you there," he said, "If you really want?"  
  
The girls must have not spoken for a while, because Nimbus had to gently prod Bunny just to make sure she hadn't frozen solid. Bunny yelped as though his fingers were boiling hot and replied, "How? You haven't got decent clothes, any Materia, so how in the world could you get us to the Golden Saucer?"  
  
Again, Nimbus shrugged, slightly arrogantly, as if to say that nothing was impossible for him. Then, dropping his trousers and shrugging out of his shirt, he revealed the glassy white Materia sewn into the space between his nipples, then the line of smaller, penny sized Materia pieces in a line all the way down to his groin. So pale was the Materia that it appeared almost a part of his skin, so that beneath the tattered rags, it had actually cast the illusion of skin.  
  
"But... If you had all that Materia, why didn't you use it to kill that monster?" asked Honey, a little set back by his nudity, since she was only used to the naked female form.  
  
"Because the old Molog wasn't trying to kill me. He and I were friends, well, acquaintances. We were just running. And, if you hadn't noticed, I was hardly in trouble..." said Nimbus simply.  
  
Bunny blanched. She'd killed the monster without realising he and Nimbus were friends? Feeling sick in the pit of her stomach that she hadn't assessed the situation, she murmured, "Oh dear... I'm dreadfully sorry Nimbus! I didn't think!"  
  
Again, Nimbus shrugged.  
  
"The Molog was old, he wouldn't have survived this cold weather anyway. Its no big deal..."  
  
Looking into his glassy eyes, Bunny realised he was speaking the exact truth. It didn't affect him on any level whatsoever.  
  
"Now, I'll use my Materia. You won't have heard of it. Its called the Shift Materia. It moves things from one place to another. In this case, I'll move us to the Golden Saucer. So if you'll please take ahold of my hands?"  
  
They stepped nearer, Honey taking his right hand, Bunny taking his left, then as the warm milky glow of the Materia swept out to envelop them, they faded, dwindling to point and disappearing...  
  
The presence stirred beneath the old city, desperate for the warmth of the sun. But no. Here it was, confined within steel reinforced by Metal Materia. It was terrible. She wanted release. She wanted fingers to touch her skin, lips to meet her mouth, a tongue to flicker against hers. She had desires. Wicked, powerful desires that would send any living thing skittering towards their burrows and hiding holes. Yet, as the heartbeat came closer, pounding through her head, she realised something came close.  
  
Hunger.  
  
Nothing alive had come to the Shinra Corp building since Meteor had burned in the sky above Midgaard, and Complete Jennova had been left alone. But, something powerful drew close, something powerful, something male. She wanted warmth and power. She would have both.  
  
Time had slowed Jennova's body, but not her soul. She knew that her own power drew this presence deeper into the building. In a confrontation, she might lose, but to be touched, to be delighted by violence, she would surrender her soul to death if it meant she could fight one more time...  
  
Diamond enjoyed the silence of the Shinra Corp's lower levels. Had he been amongst the upper levels, but had not enjoyed the sunlight that lanced through ruined windows. Aside from the sunlight, the broken windows had also allowed life to find its way into the dark corridors, from the twittering birds to the small creeping foxes, the little beast and the lumbering, Shinra was used not by humans, but by the beasts.  
  
The dome had caught his attention almost immediately. It remained perfectly polished, its smooth surface glistening even though was practically no light. He reasoned, quite correctly, that it was his inate ability to sense the power levels of any sentient being, that made the dome stand out so much. Stepping through the darkness, leaving his passage immortalised by his delicate footsteps, he walked towards his destiny...  
  
"Dodge it!" cried Aeris, spinning to one side, lashing out with her staff and catching the Ninja-Zombie on its arm. The soft flesh tore and old bones cracked under the impact, forcing the Ninja-Zombie to land awkwardly, totter and stumble towards the kittens instead.  
  
Red would not have his young targeted so. Leaping forwards, he got between the Ninja-Zombie and its prey, slowly calling upon the dull Fire Materia secreted in his head band. Fire came to his call, a small orb of flame that danced forth and struck the rotting fiend, eating up its flesh and lapping at the bones, reducing it to dust and ash that scattered it to the breeze before its undead mind fully realised oblivion.  
  
As they rested from the assault, Aeris glanced at the beautiful building atop the hill with its open walkways and beautiful Oriental architecture. So this is what it came down to? Had the years after her death been so bad for Yuffie, that the family owning this Dojo had to incant a Ninja Curse? It seemed so. Anyone trespassing upon these hills would incur the wrath of the Ninja Undead. And it would get far worse before it improved.  
  
"We've rested enough. We're continuing." growled Red.  
  
With her full healing powers not yet regained, Aeris gathered her skirts and stood, joining the three felines as they walked towards - what? A ressurection? A fight?   
  
Who knew?  
  
Have you heard me?  
  
Have you heard my dreams?  
  
You've been here for days now. But you've not left.  
  
He left. That Ruby creature.  
  
His mind is broken. I can't control separate pieces.  
  
You are sane.  
  
Too sane.  
  
I can use you...  
  
The door would not open to the hand, but the metal rang and screamed as Diamond's sword sliced effortlessly through it. He allowed himself a slight smile of delight as he retracted the blade, until he realised that the unusual weight he felt, was a naked arm attatched to it, the hand of which curled slightly around the sharp edge. Pulling harder, a complete form, clinging to the blade, came with it. Slender, naked, voluptuous, delicious. Hair slick with the liquid she had been preserved in, form glistening and damp. It all happened so quickly that Diamond was utterly shocked and surprised.  
  
She, however, was not so surprised.  
  
She, however, responded quickly.  
  
Hands clamped to his face, lips met his, her tongue forcing into his mouth. Diamond stumbled back under her advances, but her tongue liquified and flowed into his throat while her hands vapourised, tendrils creeping into his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. It was violation of the highest kind and Diamond, dropping his sword, could only scream and flounder, throwing his weight this way and that as his veins pulsed harder and harder, flowing with the blood of two, not one, his heart hammering and pounding furiously.  
  
I assault, assimilate and control.  
  
I will have your touch.  
  
I will have your body.  
  
I am Jennova.  
  
I simply Am.  
  
He falls to the floor, striking his head on the corner of a metal table on his way down.  
  
The unconscious state makes it easier for the advances of Jennova, slowly but surely creeping through his system...  
  
The entire assault took twenty seconds.  
  
The result would last a hundred lifetimes...  
  
He sits in an abandoned room, in a place we cannot tell is here, nor there. All we can tell is that he is male, carefully sculpted and delicate, but far from frail. If anything, a mystical air prevails around him, from the long black hair, to the wide green eyes, and the yellow circular tattoo slashed with black below his left eye. In large hands he cups a large, green ball of glass, the surface of which shifts and changes as he alters the pressure upon it.   
  
What does he see?  
  
Aeris and company climbing the hill.  
  
Honey, Bunny and Nimbus travelling to the Golden Saucer.  
  
Diamond struggling beneath the weight of Jennova.  
  
Ruby, spreading sadistic delight and destruction across the frozen Midgaard.  
  
The mystic Firefly stands, smiling as events fall into place.  
  
"And now, for my part," he murmurs, taking the staff which rests by a pile of astrological charts, and heading towards the door...  
  
END OF PART THREE,  
  
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! 


	4. SideStory1 The Dream of Miyase

Here is a brief interlude, to give you an idea of what is coming up, and some juicy little tidbits. Because Chapter Four is going to be HUGE and intricate, weaving the Aeris+Red and Wing Diamond stories together, its going to be a bit of a haul, so it'll take me a good few days to do! So this is just something to keep you all going! Not only does it help to introduce the character based upon my own personality, but it just serves as a little sidestory!  
  
Please Read and Review - hope you all enjoy it!  
  
... it begins ...  
  
To the girl, and to the woman within her, it wasn't morning. It was just a continuance of night. There were the same threats. The same problems. They were simply revealed by the sun, exposed. The danger didn't go away. Perhaps it wasn't so oppressive or large, but it took on new forms. That was why she savoured her dreams, for in her dreams, she could be hurt by nothing, chased by nothing - her Dreamscape was the be all and end all of her world.  
  
"Miyase?"   
  
The girl looks up, watery blue eyes slipping from the crystalline pool, to the face of her mother who sat close by. Pale, she says nothing.  
  
"Good..." replies Mother, "That time, I thought you were gone for good. Would you like some breakfast?"  
  
Miyase's attentions then turn from Mother's worn, tanned face to the plate of berries and pulses, all carefully washed and lovingly prepared. She nods once, silvery platinum hair rich in the light, a colour apart from this world in almost every respect, for she had only seen it in ice and snow. But in her Dream it abounded everywhere, from the rich spiderwebs that hung from infinity's furthest point to its closest reach, to the driving snow and angelic visions who guide her every step. Recalling that Mother had actually asked her something, Miyase nodded, taking the plate and, after selecting a choice berry, popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly.  
  
Mother smiled. Although Miyase wasn't her biological daughter, it always seemed she was. Mother had always been unable to concieve, and had always taken numerous lovers in an attempt to prove it was always the male seed to fail - but in her late twenties, with her looks failing and a reputation to get rid of, she'd simply adopted an unwanted child from the local orphanage and taken her on as her own. But...  
  
But... everything! She'd seen the miraculous child called Miyase, and chosen her instantly. Miyase had wide, soulful blue eyes and such incredible platinum hair that it seemed as though the celestial lights of the icy North had bequeathed a child in its image upon the Planet. Of course, over time, as Miyase's curious gifts had been revealed, her tendency for physically entering her own dreams, or revealing startling personal facts that Mother had never chosen to reveal, all of this had been unnerving, but, rewarding because it made Miyase special.  
  
However...  
  
Wing Jennova-Diamond wished only for release as he flew from Midgaard, streaming through the heavens, black wings slamming the wind currents and dispersing clouds as he tore through them. Even as he flew, he became less of a He and more of an It as Jennova ate into his system, assimilating and exerting full control throughout his entire being. She had no problems bypassing his Machine Materia, corrupting his basic programming with such skill that it was unnerving.  
  
'Release me!'... he begged silently...  
  
'Not a chance, my little sweet!' replied Jennova's honey tones...  
  
'But I have a mission!'  
  
'What is your mission to me?' laughed the female being, 'What do I care?'  
  
With that, Wing Jennova-Diamond lost all control and all of his functions as Jennova took over his entire body. His wings crumpled, sending him into a spiralling dive so that Jennova had to assume control instantly, bringing out the wings and steadily bringing him out of the dive and above the tree-tops a split second before any action would have been too late.  
  
Using the lips that were not her own, Jennova smiled. She would seek him out. Seek out the boy who would be a man. Seek out the sword. Seek out those blue eyes. Seek out the lips.  
  
Seek out Cloud...  
  
But...  
  
Jennova craved for something more, just for now.  
  
Jennova craved for blood...  
  
The attack came so suddenly that Miyase could only scream in fright, the first sound she had uttered that day. Mother was there one second and then torn from the ground in a shower of blood and tattered flesh, gore and meat splattering across Miyase's serene white dress, spoiling her food and splashing into the water. Miyase stumbled backwards, tearing her eyes from the violence, but found herself so disoriented that it took her a few seconds for her to realise she was falling backwards into the pool...  
  
black wings!   
  
black wings and blood!  
  
coming from the heavens!  
  
In the darkness, I float.   
  
To where?  
  
Nowhere.  
  
I'm dying. I feel myself dying. Water is flooding my lungs.  
  
Mother is dead. I don't want to die.  
  
I don't.  
  
So I'll run away.  
  
Run away into my dream.  
  
I'm coming Mother! To a place where I'll see you again!  
  
To my dream...  
  
As the darkness peels back and Miyase enters the dream physically, she stands on a pinacle of rock on the top of a mountain, surrounded only by cloud. The sky above her burnt from the light of a solitary, swollen sun, unhindered by even the ghost of a cloud.  
  
"You've changed, Dream!" calls Miyase, "Why? I ran away to you! You are my hope!"  
  
"CHILD," replies the Dream, "YOU RAN INTO THE ARMS OF DESTINY, YOU RAN AWAY FROM NOTHING. YOU HAVE A PART TO PLAY IN A GRAND SCHEME AND YOU HAVE IGNORED THE SIGNS FOR LONG ENOUGH, USING ME FOR PETTY TRICKS AND MINOR FORETELLING!"  
  
Still, she couldn't cry.  
  
"What killed Mother?"  
  
"PART OF YOUR DESTINY, ALTHOUGH THAT WAS ONLY A CATALYST TOWARDS YOUR AWAKENING. YOU, DEAR LITTLE MIYASE, ARE TO PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN SAVING THE PLANET, JUST AS YOUR COUNTERPART WILL PLAY A ROLE IN SAVING IT..."  
  
"Counterpart?"  
  
Still, she wouldn't cry.  
  
"MIYASE, YOU ARE THE WHITE SHAMAN, RAISED IN THE WOODS TO FIELD YOUR DREAMS, YOUR FORETELLING AND SUBSEQUENT POWERS MAKING YOU ESSENTIAL TO THE BATTLE DETERMINING THE FATE OF THIS WORLD, PERHAPS OTHERS ALSO. YOUR COUNTERPART, THE BLACK SHAMAN FIREFLY IS AWARE OF YOUR PRESENCE AND WILL REVEAL HIMSELF TO YOU WHEN HE SEES IT FIT. BUT FOR NOW, TRUST YOURSELF TO ME AND WE WILL BE GREAT!"  
  
Never cry.  
  
Mother is dead.  
  
Mother's blood.  
  
Miyase closes her eyes, entrusting herself to the Dream...  
  
And it changes...  
  
She sees a bee and a rabbit hand in hand...  
  
She sees two halves of a circle coming together, one with the Female Symbol upon it, one with the Male Symbol upon it...  
  
She sees the Yin and the Yang superimposed over the united Female and Male Symbol...  
  
She sees blackness swallowing all the stars as something reaches out from space to vanquish the world...  
  
She sees love, violence, darkness and light vying for supremacy across the world.  
  
But then she sees...  
  
The Final Fantasy...  
  
I know its a bit vague and different from what I've already done, but trust me on this one, please! :)  
  
Please RnR! 


End file.
